Mountain Tracks

New Blog - New Website

2011-06-23T17:29:00.001+01:00

We have launched a new website at www.mountaintracks.co.uk which also contains our blog. We are in the process of migrating blog posts from this blog to the new website. No new articles will be added to this blog and once all the existing articles have been migrated this blog will be deleted. Please join us at the new site!

Powder also reported in Zinal!

2011-02-28T16:33:00.004Z

After a long barren spell in Zinal, Eric and Penny are reporting great conditions in the new snow and the photos don't lie...If you fancy getting in on the action we have 3 places left on our Advanced level Off-Piste week staying in Eric & Penny's delightful chalet in Zinal.Visit http://www.mountaintracks.co.uk/winter/offpiste_adventure/zinal_advanced for details or call our office on 020 8123

Mid Ski-Season Blues... I don't think so now the powder is back!

2011-02-28T12:39:00.029Z

View of the Aiguille Noir de Peuterey and Italy in the cloudIt’s been a busy couple of months since the New Year for everyone at Mountain Tracks and I can’t believe as I turned the page over in dairy this morning that it will be the 1st March tomorrow - where does the time go?As most of you will know the last 6 weeks has been tough in the Alps. There was a long dry spell in January for over a

First Run of the Season on the Grand Montet

2010-12-17T10:10:00.000Z

By Olly Allen It's that time of year for me when cranking overhanging rock gets usurped by snow. Besides the climbing wall and a few brief forrays into Italy through the winter its ski, ski, ski for the next 5 months. Last weekend Matt and I headed out to the Grand Montet in Chamonix with some mates and my new toy, a head cam. The first day on skis off piste is always a killer with maximum

Early Snow in Chamonix

2010-12-16T12:29:00.000Z

Following on from my October ski adventures up the Aiguille du Midi, I am now pleased to report we have good snow cover in Chamonix for the start of the season. As I write this the snow is falling think and fast past my office window, it’s so distracting!The picture above is before the snow started. I spent most of last week plotting to go ski touring at the Grand St. Bernard pass with

Late Season Ski Touring in April and May

2010-12-16T11:01:00.000Z

In late April and May, spring is in the air, but winter in the mountains is far from over. For keen skiers the late season is the best time of year to tick one of the classic ski tours. Why? Well, at the medium and high altitudes the snow pack is deep, and crevasses are well plugged with snow. The days are warm and the nights are cold and due to the freeze thaw cycles of night and day, faces

Chamonix Powder Skiing!!!

2010-10-27T16:11:00.009+01:00

The first snows have fallen across the Alps this week. Sunday saw snow falling in most resorts across the northern Alps all day including Val D’Isere, the Trois Vallees, Chamonix and Morzine and there were reported accumulations of more than 40cm of fresh snow above 2000m. This heralds one of the earliest starts to the season for a long time. Sadly much of it may not last much beyond the end of

Interview With Liz Jones

2010-09-15T21:20:00.009+01:00

Liz Jones has been climbing with Mountain Tracks for the last 3 summers. She specialises in hard Alpine routes, and is equally happy on rock, ice or mixed ground. Liz steers away from the big snowy routes and peaks, instead choosing technical climbs of high difficulty. Liz lives in Yate, Gloucestershire and to prepare for Alpine climbs she trains in North Wales and the Brecon Beacons. If you live

How difficult is the Matterhorn?

2010-09-09T16:45:00.022+01:00

The Matterhorn is the most easily recognised peak in the world. Many climbers and walkers aspire to climb it. But how difficult is the Matterhorn? This is a question we are asked frequently. The fact is, looking from Zermatt, the peak looks nothing short of terrifying! Compared to most alpine peaks it looks impossibly steep and uncompromising. But on the other hand it is a popular mountain which

Up Close and Personal with an Icy Time Bomb

2010-09-08T09:58:00.001+01:00

I have just made a successful Mont Blanc with a Mountain Tracks team of 5. On the way up to the Tête Rouse hut we passed all the engineering works for the draining of the subterranean glacial pool. There are thousands of gallons of water trapped in a large pool below the Tête Rouse glacier. If the pool bursts it will send a raging torrent down towards St Gervais. It's not as if it hasn't

Gulmarg Skiing Video

2010-08-15T16:32:00.002+01:00

Adam has just finished putting together a new video using my footage from Gulmarg 2010 This should get you all fired up for the coming winter. There aren't many places where you can order a curry on the slopes every day! I spent over 3 weeks out there last winter and loved every minute (appart from Matt's snoring)!Patience and a horizontal attitude helps to smooth Kashmiri relations. If you want

Traverse of Pointes Lachenal

2010-08-05T10:58:00.006+01:00

Klemen enjoys a day out on the Traverse of the Pointes Lachenal at the foot of Mt Blanc du Tacul above Chamonix with Hilde, Cathrine and Elisabeth.The traverse is a good introduction to mixed terrain alpine climbing and an excellent training & acclimatization day for further 4000m climbs.Want to try this? Contact Susie susie@mountaintracks.co.uk

Summit successes all round so far this summer

2010-07-19T15:05:00.009+01:00

Klemen traversing the summit of the MatterhornThe Alps have been blessed with amazing weather since the beginning of July and we have had almost unbroken sunshine for a few weeks. The temperatures have hit a scorching 35 degrees in places and it has been nice to escape up the mountain to cooler temperatures. Our guides have been out leading trips across the Alps and everyone has enjoyed

EVEREST 2010

2010-07-06T09:39:00.021+01:00

This spring I was invited by expedition organisers Adventure Peaks to co-lead an expedition to the North Side of Everest. Much as I enjoy the spring ski touring season with Mountain Tracks I jumped at the chance. I had always wanted to go to Everest and for the same reason as most: that it is the worlds highest mountain. Also the chance to go via the North side was appealing as it is less

NEW for 2011...Ski Touring in the Lyngen Alps, Arctic Norway

2010-06-22T14:04:00.017+01:00

(Photo courtesy of Lyngen Lodge)The Lyngen Alps are an amazing natural landscape. Located in northern Norway well within the Arctic Circle this is a stunning area of remote islands, fjords and mountains. From February until May this is a fantastic playground for adventure skiing where you can ski direct to summit from sea level. With hundreds of ski summits to choose from there are endless

Winter 2010-2011 programme published!

2010-05-26T11:24:00.007+01:00

We've had an excellent winter with bookings up by over 35% compared to 2009, making it far and away our most successful winter ever! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made it such a great season! Now we're looking ahead to next winter and we've just published our programme on our website. Be the first to check it out at www.mountaintracks.co.uk/winter!There are still a few new worldwide ski

Winter season ends on a high!

2010-05-23T21:13:00.008+01:00

Our winter season came to an end on 15th May with the completion of our Ski Mont Blanc week in Chamonix. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow our group to do the planned ski ascent & descent of Mont Blanc but the Gran Paradiso - highest mountain entirely within Italy - was an excellent alternative and the group achieved 100% success on the mountain. A great end to the week and to our season

NEW for 2011...Catskiing in Macedonia!

2010-05-04T16:16:00.017+01:00

Macedonia lies between Croatia and Greece in the heart of the Balkans. It’s not particularly well known for its skiing but the Shar Planina massif which runs from Serbia and Montenegro in the North to Albania in the South offers excellent skiable terrain and guaranteed snow between January and March. The trip is centred on Macedonia’s principal ski resort of Popova Sapka which is situated 1780m

One great adventure in the Bernese Oberland

2010-05-04T15:28:00.002+01:00

View from the Konkordia HutLast week we had a group of intrepid skiers enjoying the beautiful Bernese Oberland ski tour, Greg, Charlie and friends set off under the guidance of Olly Allen and Owen Samuels for their week long trip.We were kept up-to-date on their progress by Charlie’s emails each evening sent from his Blackberry on the day’s events, the route they took, the peaks they have scaled

Spring is here!

2010-04-21T12:57:00.012+01:00

Over the past few weeks we’ve had lots of guests out skiing and touring across the Alps taking advantage of the mainly good weather and excellent snow conditions. Our Haute Route ski tours have been as popular as ever with 8 separate tours and a total of more than 40 people making the journey between Chamonix and Zermatt this winter. Despite some blistered feet and changes to the route almost

Dolomites Ski Tour

2010-03-15T08:40:00.001Z

The team taking in the sunOlly playing in the powderBeautiful refuges and amazing food Stunning views towards Cortina"I’ve got butterflies." "So have I." "It’s just nerves." All of which were unfounded and after the first morning spent assessing our skiing ability we all settled down and had an enjoyable afternoon learning to apply skins, kick turns and pace ourselves as we ascended our first

Why should you ski Ste Foy? - A personal opinion by Bryan Hogg

2010-03-09T11:57:00.004Z

Well, why not? You will no doubt have been to some (if not most, possibly all) of the big resorts nearby (Val d’Isere/Tignes, Les Arcs, La Rosiere) and therefore driven by the end of the road to the ski station of Ste Foy.If you look at the piste map there are four main lifts, which let's be honest, does not seem like very many...but and its a BIG but, the amount of good skiing they access is

Gulmarg Legend Lives On

2010-03-03T15:23:00.014Z

"India...the One land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined” Mark TwainI looked forward to the Gulmarg trip for a long time. Gulmarg has become a legend for the adventurous skier and I was keen to get out there and see what it was all about. The 2010 season did not disappoint, and

2010-03-01T08:19:00.018Z

Serious Powder Everybody hopes for optimal snow conditions on their ski trip. The best snow conditions result from regular top-ups of snow and cold temperatures. Often the best powder weeks are bad weather weeks and the selection of where to ski is of prime importance.The 'Miles Group: Chamonix, La Grave week' was just that. Snow every night, mixed weather and tons of powder. Fresh track skiing

Ski Touring Skills Weekend 4th - 7th February

2010-02-09T09:15:00.013Z

On Friday I joined the first ski day of our Ski Touring Skills Weekend for a ski day in Megeve. We had a group of 12 with Jonny Baird and Klemen Gricar, IFMGA Mountain Guides looking after everyone. With a forecast of heavy snow we headed out of the Hotel Regina in St. Gervais to the ski lift at La Jaillet in Megeve, as we got to the top of the lifts the heavens opened with amazing heavy snow.

Rupert Rosedale (1972-2009)

2010-02-05T12:14:00.004Z

Some very tragic news...Mountain Tracks guests will be saddened to hear that Rupert Rosedale one of the UK's leading alpinists and a trainee mountain guide was killed in an avalanche on Ben Nevis at New Year http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/8436753.stm We send sincere condolences to his family and as a close friend of Nick and his children for many years we publish Nick's tribute to

La grave - Steep but not so deep!

2010-01-27T20:13:00.001Z

The classic La Grave lift shotRupert looking in controll on the 40 degree Patoui couloirAn epic descent down to St CristopheMore steeps, Giles needs a new ski suit I think?We had a brilliant few days despite the lack of fresh snow. I managed to hunt out some great tracks and didn't scare anyone too much (appart from Jamie) on some 40 degree coulouirs.Check out the pictures here http://

Glacier Safety Film

2010-01-19T14:34:00.006Z

This is a great short film that everyone should watch, its has some excellent information in it on glacier skiing and associated hazards.Glacier Skiing Safety (full audio version) from Simon Christy on Vimeo.Filmed last winter on the Vallee Blanche in Chamonix, it shows the basic principals of safe glacier skiing and group management. Directed and produced by Andy Perkins IFMGA Mountain Guide and

Scott Skis On Test

2010-01-17T11:25:00.003Z

Scott skis on test from left to right, Stunt, Pure, Crusade, Crusair, Stunt and Neo. I didn't want to give these ones back!